Authentic: God, Social Justice Warrior
I’m not really a person who enjoys horror films. My daughter sometimes tries to get me to watch one with her, so I pull out Rear Window or Psycho. She’s not been so engaged so far.
There are some themes in the classic horror genre that are compelling to me. Those with a supernatural element usually bring up good conversations about the existence and nature of God. Often zombie films bring up great visuals of human nature and unintended consequences. Others explore family and societal dynamics when faced with impossible situations, not to mention that they are instructive in survival tactics!
Some of the most compelling for me are those that explore the judgment of those who don’t understand that they deserve judgment.
I still don’t watch them, give me a good RomCom any day, but I do like to follow the storylines!
The people of Israel had no concept of what was coming. They deserved judgment, but they had been led into patterns of societal behavior that were directly opposed to what their covenant with God agreed to.
In summary, here is the covenant:
This day the Lord your God commands you to do these statutes and ordinances. You shall therefore be careful to do them with all your heart and with all your soul. You have today declared the Lord to be your God, and that you would walk in His ways and keep His statutes, His commandments, and His ordinances, and listen to His voice. The Lord has today declared you to be His people, a treasured possession, as He promised you, and that you should keep all His commandments; and that He will set you high above all nations which He has made, for praise, fame, and honor; and that you shall be a consecrated people to the Lord your God, as He has spoken.
Deuteronomy 26:16-19
The people responded, “Everything you have commanded we will do!” And the covenant was sealed.
The people never really followed through on their promise. But God, being the merciful and long-suffering God He is, gave them nearly 900 years to get things straight before bringing judgment on the people. He constantly sent the Israelites prophets to let them know what was coming and what was expected. But the political and religious leaders rejected the prophets and continued to turn their hearts away from God. So their judgment came, and they didn’t really understand why.
One of the prophets, Micah, had some specific things to say to the Israelites that we don’t often think of when we think of why the Israelites were judged.
The leaders of Israel and Judah took land in an unjust manner, ignoring the property laws of the Mosaic Law: They covet fields and then seize them, and houses, and take them away. They rob a man and his house, a man and his inheritance.
The leaders of Israel and Judah took advantage of the poor: Recently My people have arisen as an enemy—You strip the robe off the garment from unsuspecting passers-by, from those returned from war. The women of My people you evict, each one from her pleasant house.
The leaders of Israel and Judah treated the people like commodities to be consumed: Hear now, heads of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel. Is it not for you to know justice? You who hate good and love evil, who tear off their skin from them and their flesh from their bones, who eat the flesh of my people, strip off their skin from them, break their bones and chop them up as for the pot and as meat in a kettle.
The corrupt leaders of Israel and Judah took bribes, the corrupt prophets and priests took money to give the messages their donors wanted to hear: Her leaders pronounce judgment for a bribe, her priests instruct for a price and her prophets divine for money. Yet they lean on the Lord saying, “Is not the Lord in our midst? Calamity will not come upon us.”
In short, the political and religious leaders of Israel and Judah took advantage of the plight of the poor and disadvantaged to make themselves rich. It was injustice of the highest order both in the halls of justice and the house of God.
We often think of moralistic reasons for Israel's judgment. And it’s true, there were murders and theft and ungodly relationships in Israel. But what really lit God’s fire according to Micah was how the poor and disadvantaged were treated.
He has told you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justice, to love kindness,
And to walk humbly with your God?
Try this with your kids:
Who are the people in our town who are the disadvantaged and poor?
How does our church work to help them?
Do you think the poor and disadvantaged in the United States think of the Christian church as a place to turn to for help?
There are some themes in the classic horror genre that are compelling to me. Those with a supernatural element usually bring up good conversations about the existence and nature of God. Often zombie films bring up great visuals of human nature and unintended consequences. Others explore family and societal dynamics when faced with impossible situations, not to mention that they are instructive in survival tactics!
Some of the most compelling for me are those that explore the judgment of those who don’t understand that they deserve judgment.
I still don’t watch them, give me a good RomCom any day, but I do like to follow the storylines!
The people of Israel had no concept of what was coming. They deserved judgment, but they had been led into patterns of societal behavior that were directly opposed to what their covenant with God agreed to.
In summary, here is the covenant:
This day the Lord your God commands you to do these statutes and ordinances. You shall therefore be careful to do them with all your heart and with all your soul. You have today declared the Lord to be your God, and that you would walk in His ways and keep His statutes, His commandments, and His ordinances, and listen to His voice. The Lord has today declared you to be His people, a treasured possession, as He promised you, and that you should keep all His commandments; and that He will set you high above all nations which He has made, for praise, fame, and honor; and that you shall be a consecrated people to the Lord your God, as He has spoken.
Deuteronomy 26:16-19
The people responded, “Everything you have commanded we will do!” And the covenant was sealed.
The people never really followed through on their promise. But God, being the merciful and long-suffering God He is, gave them nearly 900 years to get things straight before bringing judgment on the people. He constantly sent the Israelites prophets to let them know what was coming and what was expected. But the political and religious leaders rejected the prophets and continued to turn their hearts away from God. So their judgment came, and they didn’t really understand why.
One of the prophets, Micah, had some specific things to say to the Israelites that we don’t often think of when we think of why the Israelites were judged.
The leaders of Israel and Judah took land in an unjust manner, ignoring the property laws of the Mosaic Law: They covet fields and then seize them, and houses, and take them away. They rob a man and his house, a man and his inheritance.
The leaders of Israel and Judah took advantage of the poor: Recently My people have arisen as an enemy—You strip the robe off the garment from unsuspecting passers-by, from those returned from war. The women of My people you evict, each one from her pleasant house.
The leaders of Israel and Judah treated the people like commodities to be consumed: Hear now, heads of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel. Is it not for you to know justice? You who hate good and love evil, who tear off their skin from them and their flesh from their bones, who eat the flesh of my people, strip off their skin from them, break their bones and chop them up as for the pot and as meat in a kettle.
The corrupt leaders of Israel and Judah took bribes, the corrupt prophets and priests took money to give the messages their donors wanted to hear: Her leaders pronounce judgment for a bribe, her priests instruct for a price and her prophets divine for money. Yet they lean on the Lord saying, “Is not the Lord in our midst? Calamity will not come upon us.”
In short, the political and religious leaders of Israel and Judah took advantage of the plight of the poor and disadvantaged to make themselves rich. It was injustice of the highest order both in the halls of justice and the house of God.
We often think of moralistic reasons for Israel's judgment. And it’s true, there were murders and theft and ungodly relationships in Israel. But what really lit God’s fire according to Micah was how the poor and disadvantaged were treated.
He has told you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justice, to love kindness,
And to walk humbly with your God?
Try this with your kids:
Who are the people in our town who are the disadvantaged and poor?
How does our church work to help them?
Do you think the poor and disadvantaged in the United States think of the Christian church as a place to turn to for help?
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